Fresh look to leaderboard as Will Zalatoris leads Mito Pereira at US PGA Championship

In the city that houses a new museum dedicated to Bob Dylan, the times they are a changin’. How else to explain a major leaderboard as has Will Zalatoris and Mito Pereira – without a main tour victory between them – at the summit? Zalatoris leads Pereira by one at the halfway point of this US PGA Championship.

A 64 from Pereira, the 27-year-old Chilean, was already in the books before Zalatoris putted out for a 65. Nine under par plays eight under par. Increasingly benign conditions were notable on Friday afternoon but these were still terrific performances. “I actually got away with murder a few times,” said Zalatoris.

Rory McIlroy, in a similar position on the draw, could fare no better than 71. McIlroy remains firmly in the picture at Southern Hills – he is five behind Zalatoris – but looked and sounded frustrated at failure to capitalise on a course that had little by way of defence.

“There’s a long way to go, a lot of golf left,” said McIlroy. “We’re going to see a completely different golf course the next two days because of the wind direction. It’s going to play completely differently.”

McIlroy was nudged into a share of fifth by Bubba Watson. The two-time Masters champion rampaged towards a 63, which included nine birdies. Watson thereby leapt from plus two to minus five.

Tiger Woods delivered a sense of familiarity. Woods sat outside the cut line after a messy double bogey at the par three 11th. His response was formidable; Woods birdied two of his last six holes to post a 69 and maintain tournament involvement. “You can’t win the tournament if you miss the cut,” said Woods.

Justin Thomas began this US PGA Championship week battling sinus and allergy issues. He explained why having his father as a coach was